Interview: Director Jess Edwards on ELEPHANT at The Menier Chocolate Factory

This month sees the opening of a new production of the critically acclaimed play Elephant at the Menier Chocolate Factory, for a strictly limited season. It reunites writer and performer Anoushka Lucas with original director Jess Edwards, and tells the story of musician Lylah and the piano that helped her fall in love with music. We spoke with Edwards to get an insight into her directorial process.

What are the main themes explored in Elephant?

The show packs so much into 85 minutes - falling in love, family, intersectionality, the music industry, racism, hope, provocation, colonialism. At its core it’s moving and subverting: a love story between one girl and her piano, and the journey of intense emotion they both go on.

What role does music play in your direction?

Music is an essential part of all the work I make. I think you can tell essential truths through sung text and musical text that you can’t in the same way through spoken text. Music, especially in Anoushka Lucas’s hands, takes you to another dimension. It stops time, allowing you to drill down into a feeling and express that which is beyond language.  When I’m directing, I like to tell different things about the story through music, spoken text and physicality. When all three elements exist in harmonious tension, that’s when I know the story is really cooking. I love working with Anoushka and it’s a joy that she’s so up for this expressive, non literal way of telling the story. 

This is a reimagined new production of Elephant. Can you give us any hints about how it differs to previous productions and what inspired you to make those changes?

No spoilers but - each time we’ve done the show we’ve reworked the ending. Endings can be so hard, and I think this production has really cracked it. I feel so proud of where we have landed with it. 

What do you hope audiences take away from their experience of Elephant?

I hope they feel challenged and confronted to think through their experiences and prejudices if they are white, and represented and included if they are global majority. I hope everyone feels moved, delighted, provoked and entertained - and goes away thinking differently about the piano.

What's next for you in the world of writing or directing?

I’m in rehearsals now for a production of Carrie: The Musical with the brilliant MA students at Central School of Speech and Drama - and I’m in pre-production for two shows in Autumn and Winter 2025; one as director, one as writer. I’m sad to say that they haven’t been announced yet so I can’t say more! Watch this space as I’ll be able to talk about them at the end of June. Suffice to say, both are incredibly special shows and I can’t wait to share them with audiences.